Piracy is fast reaching the point where it affects nearly every single Internet user in some way or another. Often the attempts to curb the illegal downloading of copyrighted materials threaten to spill over and affect other aspects of our online lives, much like the recent debate regarding SOPA and PIPA.

For film-makers the impact is often negative, but with a change of perspective the Internet can suddenly be the catalyst for success, spring-boarding a film from obscurity to fame in record time. Best of all, film-makers are actually able to make money by sharing their creations for free.

Welcome to VODO.

Magic People, VODO People

VODO works in a similar way to crowd-funding services like Kickstarter, except the funding process almost works entirely in reverse. For film-makers VODO appeals because once the film has been made it can be shared and distributed (via BitTorrent, nonetheless) and promoted by VODO. There are no physical distribution or packaging costs and the retailer doesn’t take a slice of the pie either.

Instead the film is presented to the Internet for free. Once a user has downloaded and enjoyed the film then the option to donate is heavily encouraged. Like many crowd-funding ventures, there are opportunities to donate larger amounts in exchange for extras like signed DVDs, audio commentary and so on.

The service turns the idea of piracy on its head, and places faith in the downloading public to donate. Donation amounts can be as little or as much as you like, and the film-makers are guaranteed to see more greenbacks than if you spent a similar amount on a physical DVD. Without further ado, let’s see what quality films reside on this excellent service.

Snowblind (2010) [IMDB]

The product of a group of German 70s and 80s grindhouse enthusiasts, Snowblind is a film for anyone who enjoys graphic novel adaptations, cowboys and motorbikes. Talent was sourced from the US, Britain, Australia, Ireland and South Africa to make this a truly international effort.

The film is highly stylized in typical graphic novel fashion, and takes the usual grainy visuals and atmosphere and does something a bit different with it. Snowblind was entirely privately funded on virtually no budget. It won “Best International Picture” at Belfast’s 2010 Yellow Fever International Film Festival.

The Tunnel (2011) [IMDB]

Shakey-cam films can either turn out tense, gripping and watchable (The Blair Witch Project) or cliched, boring and nausea-inducing (Cloverfield, anyone?). The Tunnel is yet another shakey-cam “found footage” film which, in my opinion, is worth the slog. Set in Sydney, Australia, a journalist and her team venture into a network of disused underground tunnels in search of a story only to discover that the story is coming for them.

The acting is a bit ropey in places, but the film does manage to pull some convincing characters and dialogue out of the hat when it matters. The Tunnel has won a variety of awards and is available in a selection of formats over at the official website.

Exhibit A (2007) [IMDB]

Straight from the Eden Lake school of horror, Exhibit A tells the tale of a British family disintegrating under financial pressure through the eyes of the family video camera. That’s right, it’s technically another shakey-cam though this is certainly not your average horror film.

The camera eventually becomes “Exhibit A”, and captures the slow disintegration of a family unit that’s painful to watch, but impossible to look away. The film was shot in only 18 days and the actors did all of their own (convincing) camera work.

A Grain of Sand (2009) [IMDB]

In 1972 British-national Brendan Grimshaw gave up his successful career editing major African newspapers in order to buy Moyenne Island for £10,000. Since then he and his friend Rene Lafortune have planted 16,000 trees, built 4.8KM of nature trails and built up a population of 109 giant land tortoises.

Experience Brendan’s paradise in this documentary which uncovers his last 30 years of effort. Brendan is now in his 80s and concerned about the future of Moyenne Island which has accrued a value of around £28 million (€34m).

The Yes Men Fix The World: P2P Extended Edition (2010) [IMDB]

Gonzo journalism lives on in the form of The Yes Men who stop at nothing to get their point heard and message conveyed. This special P2P edition of the film contains additional footage of the duo impersonating the United States Chamber of Commerce, who are now suing them for doing so. This footage cannot be released on DVD, so the only way it’ll be seen is if you download it.

Join the pair as they expose inequalities the world over including flagrant profiteering from Hurricane Katrina and other high-profile, highly-entertaining and very clever political stunts.

Conclusion

There are so many films to choose from on VODO, and you can easily donate using PayPal, Visa or Mastercard. Browse, download, give what you like and reap the benefits – not only are you helping out film-makers, but also proving that file sharing can be used for far more than just piracy.

Best bit? Most torrents are well-seeded so download speeds are generally very high.

Any films on this list you like? Any on VODO you’d like to recommend? What do you think of the payment model? Have your say in the comments!

View full post on MakeUseOf

It seems that every year a promising new video service emerges (most recently, perhaps Vevo) and another hits the dust (most recently, MegaUpload/MegaVideo). As the trend continues, we storage junkies must adapt. We’ve talked a lot on this subject in the past, but I’m confident that you’ll find my ways to be the easiest and most effective. Storing remote video content locally is a challenge no more, and I’ve got three tried and true methods to tip you on to.

If you’ve ever been to a website, watched a hilarious clip, and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I could keep that one forever. What if it gets deleted?”, you’re now looking at the correct article.

Downloading Flash Files Using Your Browser

Saikat wrote an awesome article nearly three years ago that still works like a charm. This method is still my favorite as it can be performed in every browser available. Although the method still works like a charm, exactly as it’s described in Saikat’s article, let’s go back over the process for Firefox.

Start by going to a page with a Flash video on it. YouTube is a good example. You can tell if a website is using Flash to power their video front-end by right clicking on the video itself and looking at the context menu. If Flash is mentioned, there you go.

After you’ve found your video, right click on the page (not the video) and select “View Page Info“.

Now, click the “Media” tab across the top. Scroll through the list until you find the content with the “Type” matching “Embed“. Click on it, and then “Save As…“. A download prompt will come up and you’ll be saving the SWF file right to your drive.

Using Offliberty

Offliberty is my best-kept secret when it comes to pulling video content off of the web. I’m not sure if it can get any more easier than this solution.

There are a lot of ad-filled websites that extract videos from YouTube for you. There’s also a lot of sticky, bad adware that you can download to get it done. With Offliberty, you just paste the URL and then wait for it to crunch some numbers, then download.

It’ll take a few seconds and then your results are in. You can actually rip the MP3 or the entire video from YouTube with this service, but for the sake of this article, let’s go with the video.

Offliberty supports a lot of the most popular video and music websites. Just plug a URL in and give it a shot, pretty good chance that it’ll be able to instantly convert and spit out what you’re looking for.

Just a little warning: Offliberty uses a script to randomize their page background. I refreshed anywhere between 10 and 15 times and one of the backgrounds was set to a very faint image of a male and a female, the female being topless. It was nothing explicit or hardcore and I’d classify it as “artsy,” but don’t use this at work. You shouldn’t be, anyway!

NetVideoHunter for Firefox

NetVideoHunter Video Downloader is one of my favorite Firefox add-ons. This page explains the usage of the add-on better than any, but let me give you a quick rundown.

Download and install the plugin. Restart Firefox. Go to any website that streams video. Start the video. Look at your Add-ons Bar for the NVH icon and click on it.

Here, you’ll see a list of every video that you’ve loaded this browser session. From this menu, you can watch the videos or download them. If using a site like YouTube where many formats are supported, every format should be available in the menu (as you can see it is in the screenshot). Can’t be much simpler than clicking “Download” and saving the video locally.

If these three are less than what you want, check out some of our other related posts:

• Capture Streaming Video From Any Website With These 5 Tools
• How To Download Videos From Hulu The Easy Way
• 4 Quick Ways To Download YouTube Videos Off The Net

What are your preferred ways of downloading videos off the web? Let us know in the comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

It seems that every year a promising new video service emerges (most recently, perhaps Vevo) and another hits the dust (most recently, MegaUpload/MegaVideo). As the trend continues, we storage junkies must adapt. We’ve talked a lot on this subject in the past, but I’m confident that you’ll find my ways to be the easiest and most effective. Storing remote video content locally is a challenge no more, and I’ve got three tried and true methods to tip you on to.

If you’ve ever been to a website, watched a hilarious clip, and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I could keep that one forever. What if it gets deleted?”, you’re now looking at the correct article.

Downloading Flash Files Using Your Browser

Saikat wrote an awesome article nearly three years ago that still works like a charm. This method is still my favorite as it can be performed in every browser available. Although the method still works like a charm, exactly as it’s described in Saikat’s article, let’s go back over the process for Firefox.

Start by going to a page with a Flash video on it. YouTube is a good example. You can tell if a website is using Flash to power their video front-end by right clicking on the video itself and looking at the context menu. If Flash is mentioned, there you go.

After you’ve found your video, right click on the page (not the video) and select “View Page Info“.

Now, click the “Media” tab across the top. Scroll through the list until you find the content with the “Type” matching “Embed“. Click on it, and then “Save As…“. A download prompt will come up and you’ll be saving the SWF file right to your drive.

Using Offliberty

Offliberty is my best-kept secret when it comes to pulling video content off of the web. I’m not sure if it can get any more easier than this solution.

There are a lot of ad-filled websites that extract videos from YouTube for you. There’s also a lot of sticky, bad adware that you can download to get it done. With Offliberty, you just paste the URL and then wait for it to crunch some numbers, then download.

It’ll take a few seconds and then your results are in. You can actually rip the MP3 or the entire video from YouTube with this service, but for the sake of this article, let’s go with the video.

Offliberty supports a lot of the most popular video and music websites. Just plug a URL in and give it a shot, pretty good chance that it’ll be able to instantly convert and spit out what you’re looking for.

Just a little warning: Offliberty uses a script to randomize their page background. I refreshed anywhere between 10 and 15 times and one of the backgrounds was set to a very faint image of a male and a female, the female being topless. It was nothing explicit or hardcore and I’d classify it as “artsy,” but don’t use this at work. You shouldn’t be, anyway!

NetVideoHunter for Firefox

NetVideoHunter Video Downloader is one of my favorite Firefox add-ons. This page explains the usage of the add-on better than any, but let me give you a quick rundown.

Download and install the plugin. Restart Firefox. Go to any website that streams video. Start the video. Look at your Add-ons Bar for the NVH icon and click on it.

Here, you’ll see a list of every video that you’ve loaded this browser session. From this menu, you can watch the videos or download them. If using a site like YouTube where many formats are supported, every format should be available in the menu (as you can see it is in the screenshot). Can’t be much simpler than clicking “Download” and saving the video locally.

If these three are less than what you want, check out some of our other related posts:

• Capture Streaming Video From Any Website With These 5 Tools
• How To Download Videos From Hulu The Easy Way
• 4 Quick Ways To Download YouTube Videos Off The Net

What are your preferred ways of downloading videos off the web? Let us know in the comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Free Download Manager? It is a powerful, easy-to-use and absolutely free download accelerator and manager. Moreover, FDM is 100% safe, open-source software distributed under GPL license.

View full post on FileHippo.com

Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads. Comprehensive error recovery and resume capability will restart broken or interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network problems, computer shutdowns, or unexpected power outages. Simple graphic user interface makes IDM use…

View full post on FileHippo.com

Curious about Ubuntu, but not sure where to start? Start here – “Ubuntu: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide“, by author Courtney Loo, is the latest free guide from MakeUseOf and will teach you everything you need to know about Ubuntu in easy-to-understand language.

Ubuntu is a free/libre, open-source computer operating system with 20 million users worldwide. But it’s also so much more than that: it is an ethos, a collaborative project and, first and foremost, Ubuntu is a community of people.

If you’re reading this guide, you’re probably interested in moving away from proprietary operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS X; perhaps you’ve already installed Ubuntu on your computer but are not sure where to start.

Migrating to a new operating system can be daunting, especially when faced with unfamiliar words like ‘FLOSS’, ‘command line interface’ and ‘kernel’. Many people are intimidated by the technical jargon of a non-commercial operating system and believe it’s too advanced for them. Well, that is simply not true. Ubuntu is easy to install and simple to use. Best of all: it’s completely FREE!

DOWNLOAD Ubuntu: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

This complete, free guide will teach you:

• What Ubuntu is, in every sense of the word
• What makes Ubuntu free, as in freedom
• How Ubuntu and Linux are related
• How to install Ubuntu for absolute beginners
• Where to find free support for Ubuntu questions
• How to use the Unity interface
• How to find software in Ubuntu, and which software to use

DOWNLOAD Ubuntu: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide

The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the password by:

1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the guide via email in the next couple of hours.

OR

2 – Simply join our Facebook page. Quick and easy.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads. Comprehensive error recovery and resume capability will restart broken or interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network problems, computer shutdowns, or unexpected power outages. Simple graphic user interface makes IDM use…

View full post on FileHippo.com

Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Every edition invites you to explore various genres and artists from around the world. This edition once again takes you on a journey around the world, exposing you to its manifold sounds.

Please share your thoughts and post your feedback in the comments. Album submissions, suggestions, and genre requests via email [tina at makeuseof dot com] are most welcome!

Various Artists – Brassland Sampler for 2011

Genre: alternative, indie, rock, classical, postclassical, sampler

From Brassland’s homepage: “Brassland is an artist-operated label started in 2001 by writer Alec Hanley Bemis (LA Weekly, the New York Times, LA Times, the New Yorker, etc.) and twin brothers/musicians Aaron Dessner (The National) and Bryce Dessner (Clogs; The National). We encourage collaboration and creation among an evolving assortment of creative folks. Music is our current focus. We like music that transcends genre. At the same time we try not to make transcending genre a cliche by applying labels to what we do: funk-metal, progressive punk, Afro-Cuban jazz, underground hip-hop, intelligent dance music, whateva! We like musicians who play well and possess the elusive tonic of personality. Most of all we just like music.”

Brassland Sampler for 2011 is a free download from Bandcamp.

Pearse McGloughlin – Busy Whisper

Genre: alternative, pop, irish, folk

From his homepage: “The musicians that impress me operate at borders . . . cross them when they need to, stop short of them if they need to. It’s sometimes a difficult terrain to navigate. To date, Walkperson has served as the nom de guerre for my songs and the musicians who have played with me. I first played with a group called ‘Socialite’ in my hometown of Sligo. That was immense fun and I have very fond memories of it. Subsequently, I spent time in France and Montreal, learned French, got hooked on songwriting and recorded a short EP in cold Québec city. My next group was ‘Thy Swan Army’ in Galway. I took a lot from this band, recorded songs and played some really good gigs. People liked us. The group splintered eventually and members went to work on separate projects (Ghostwood Project, John Terrors). I next lived in London, played with more musicians and gigged the indie scene as Walkperson. Most of the songs I wrote during this period I’ve let go but there are several I’ve held on to, of which I’m still proud. Since coming back to Ireland I’ve recorded and released ‘Desired Effect EP’ with Andrew Deacon, Ales Bagart and James Yearn.”

Busy Whisper is a free download from Bandcamp.

Palmer and Grub Street Writer – On the Road to Crazy

Genre: alternative, folk, rock

Andy Palmer is the lead singer of Grub Street Writer, his band with Dan Kern. Dave Solzberg, and Carl Sorenson. From their Facebook page: “Grub Street Writer visits all sides of the human spirit, but maintains a positivism that keeps it from jumping off the cliff. It’s gritty and percussive, in turns rolling, thumping, bluesing, jamming. They lived. Perhaps a little too long — definitely a little too much.”

On the Road to Crazy is a free download from Bandcamp.

Jake Roche – Last Beams of the Old Setting Moon

Genre: acoustic, blues, folk, harmonica, psychedelic

When not recording solo albums, Jake Roche is singer and guitarist for the rock and roll band Lit On The Flash. From the album page: “Recorded as part of the RPM Challenge. The Challenge was to write and record an album in the month of February. Recorded with one microphone, in a living room overlooking Great Bay in Durham, NH.” The album was released on March 1st, 2011.

Last Beams of the Old Setting Moon is a free download from Bandcamp.

The Sparrowells – Acoustic Songs

Genre: experimental, acoustic, indie

The Sparrowells is a music project of Tristan Bohling. One his Facebook page he writes that he is a musician, artist, composer, writer, and a person. The vocals for the acoustic EP were provided by Morgan Topper.

Acoustic Songs is a free download from Bandcamp.

Fish Tank – Henry

Genre: alternative, indie, pop, rock

The three piece band from Kent, UK has a very brief bio: “Met at university, decided being in a band would be a lucrative and stable career choice…”

Henry is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

Giraffage – Comfort

Genre: electronic, ambient, chill, dreampop

Giraffage is the music project of Charlie Yin from San Francisco.

Comfort is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

Jonti – Sine & Moon

Genre: electronic, remix, pop

From the album page: “Last summer, while prepping his debut album Twirligig, Jonti put together the “Sine & Moon Mix” for the Stones Throw Podcast, a collection of earlier songs he’d recorded on 4-track. In the months since the mixtape, he’s been hit up with requests for the individual tracks, and so Sine & Moon (The Album) came about.”

“People liked the songs on the Sine And Moon podcast, so I wanted to get them out for free. So I turned it into an album with extra’s, new mixes and original Jeff Jank Artwork. I really love these songs and I hope you enjoy!” – Jonti

Sine & Moon is a free download from the Stones Throw Records Homepage.

Agent Whiskers – Stage 2: The Path Untaken

Genre: ambient, electronic, experimental, classical, pop

From the album page: “Agent Whiskers levels up! Stage 2: The Path Untaken is Agent Whiskers’ sophomore album, a sprawling electronic experience featuring 7 tracks that take you on a journey from the album’s mysterious and eerie beginning to its vengeful end. Stage 2 is an adventure that unravels with every track, offering a cohesive structure while setting an atmosphere and tone that lasts throughout the album.”

Stage 2: The Path Untaken is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

Notebook Noise – Debonair Gear: Wit Instrumental

Genre: alternative, electronic, instrumental, hip hop

From their Facebook page: “The Notebook Noise core members: Johnasaurus Rex aka John Gray; and Thaddeus James aka Jeff Mroz got down to it on the Debonair Wit EP. Production was hands-on and as fast as lightening with John seeming to be in some other world to bring the songs to life. The basic idea would be thought of for about a minute, and then within a half hour the songs would be living, breathing, soul-seeking monsters; complete with bass-lines and synth breaks. It seemed that there was left over energy from ‘Snares’ still hovering in that smoky basement studio.”

Debonair Gear: Wit Instrumental is a free download from Bandcamp.

Tia London – Love Junkie

Genre: hip hop, soul

Tia London is a hip hop artist from Chicago via Los Angeles. Her debut album Love Junkie was produced by The Legendary Traxster.

Love Junkie is a free download from Traxster Inc.

New to Sound Sunday? Past editions of Sound Sunday are available here.

Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback or simply add your comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Every edition invites you to explore various genres and artists from around the world. This edition invites you on a refreshing audio ride from pop, over rock and punk, via electro, instrumental bass and jazz to hip hop.

Please share your thoughts and post your feedback in the comments. Album submissions, suggestions, and genre requests via email [tina at makeuseof dot com] are most welcome!

Jessie Frye – Fireworks Child

Genre: indie, pop, rock

From her Facebook profile: “Jessie Frye is 22 years old and based in Denton, TX. She started taking classical piano lessons at age 12, and always felt that music was not something you do, but something you are. She formed her band in early 2009 after receiving an invite to play an official showcase at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX. “When I got the invitation, it was based off the CD (The Delve) itself, because I didn’t have a band and I didn’t have any press. I was like, holy shit, I better get a band together, you know?” Since then, Jessie and her band have showcased in 2010 as well as 2011.”

Fireworks Child is a free download from Bandcamp.

USONIA – Selftitled

Genre: alternative, indie, pop, rock

USONIA is a three man indie-pendent rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 2010 Selftitled album USONIA is their debut. Rob van Alstyne from City Pages writes: “Their self-titled debut album is a sublime slice of headphone-friendly pop, confidently encompassing everything from jagged-nerve new wave to white-boy soul-rock with enough sass to make Hall & Oates burn with envy.”

USONIA is a free download from Bandcamp.

Lava Lava Love – A Bunch Of Love Songs And Zombies

Genre: pop

From their Tumblr Bio: “Lava Lava Love were formed in the summer of 2010, a bit accidentally, when Vittorio Pozzato (vocals, keyboards and guitar player in Fake P, House of All and Canadians) and Massimo Fiorio (bass player in Canadians) decided to visit producer Matteo Cantaluppi’s recording studio. He joins them, and the result of this collaboration is the creation of their first three songs: Keep on Falling, The Light is a Lie and In the Aeroplane over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel’s cover).”

A Bunch Of Love Songs And Zombies is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

Fort Lean – Selftitled

Genre: alternative, rock

From their Facebook profile: “At Fort Lean, which is a place you can go, the weather is perfect all the time. Hot but not too sticky, and you can sleep in the park comfortably without getting hassled by the cops. Fort Lean is about getting too drunk at your own picnic. Fort Lean is about leaving the city. Fort Lean is a place where you can still see the skyline but you can’t hear any cars and you can put all your stolen wine in the stream to keep it cool and when the fire dies out you can see some stars and not too many airplanes.”

Fort Lean is a free download from Bandcamp.

Verbal Rocket – Convenience Store Mirrors

Genre: indie, garage, rock, punk, post-punk, post-rock, lo-fi, mixtape, compilation

Verbal Rocket is a UK based online indie fanzine. They regularly release mixtapes to promote bands from around the globe. From their Bandcamp page: “This is a DIY, Non-profit organisation which exists as a tool to promote and support what we consider quality independent music.”

Convenience Store Mirrors is a free download from Bandcamp.

Romantic Nobita Records – Japanese Pop Punk?/?Easycore Compilation 2011

Genre: pop, punk, easycore, hardcore, popcore, compilation

Romantic Nobita Records is a Japanese record label founded in March 2010.

Japanese Pop Punk?/?Easycore Compilation 2011 is a free download from Mediafire (see link below Bandcamp playlist).

Ste McCabe – Bubblegum Laser

Genre: punk, electro, indipop, queercore

From Ste’s Homepage: “I have put together a Bandcamp page with all of my releases on it. Probably the most important things to plug are my brand new free download EP “Bubblegum Laser Gun” which features fun remixes by Cassette Donkey and Tingle in The Netherlands!”

Bubblegum Laser Gum is a free download from Bandcamp.

Jordan Brown – Jordan Writes Short Stories

Genre: instrumental, bass

From Jordan’s homepage: “Jordan is a London – based bass player and producer. His love for Music and eclectic approach to the instrument together with his relaxed and positive attitude makes him the choice of many artists both in the studio and on the road. And he looks good on stage too.”

Jordan Writes Short Stories is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

Kondor – Beyond The Clouds

Genre: indie, jazz, instrumental, hip hop

This wonderful jazzy instrumental hip hop album is the work of Konrad Gogosz from Jas?o, Poland.

Beyond The Clouds is a free download from Bandcamp.

Self Taught – 5 Year Journey

Genre: atmosphere, hip hop, rap

From Chamberlain Drive Records’ press kit: “Our label is proud to present Self Taught‘s sophomore album Five Year Journey.
In the last five years, Michael Jackson died, Mini-me made a sex tape, the pregnant man gave birth, a time traveler appeared in a Charlie Chaplin film and Self Taught made an album that will undoubtedly overshadow all of these things.
Heavily influenced by golden-era hip hop but relevant to today’s sound, Five YearJourney is being dubbed as a new-age throwback. The album includes 15 songs with features from Inkspill, K-Rec, Mike Decline, and Allan Rodger and is seamlessly woven together with transitional cuts from K-Rec, a producer/turntablist, who re-mixed “It’s Tricky” by Run-Dmc, which soon became the title track for the Electronic Arts video game SSX Tricky. The album is dedicated to the group’s longtime friend, Colin Van Dyk, who passed away unexpectedly in 2010.”
Self Taught were recently featured on Sound Sunday with their debut Arrival.

5 Year Journey is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

New to Sound Sunday? Past editions of Sound Sunday are available here.

Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback or simply add your comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads. Comprehensive error recovery and resume capability will restart broken or interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network problems, computer shutdowns, or unexpected power outages. Simple graphic user interface makes IDM use…

View full post on FileHippo.com

Free Download Manager? It is a powerful, easy-to-use and absolutely free download accelerator and manager. Moreover, FDM is 100% safe, open-source software distributed under GPL license.

View full post on FileHippo.com

class="align-right" title="sound sunday" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/images/recurring/sound-sunday.png?323f2c" alt="free music" width="210" height="210" />Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Every edition invites you to explore various genres and artists from around the world. If you have been caught up in the hectic of Christmas gift shopping and general pre-holiday stress, this edition is for you: a chilled mix of pop, rock, folk, americana, electronic, samba, and very mainstream-friendly hip hop.

Please share your thoughts and post your feedback in the comments. Album submissions, suggestions, and genre requests via email [tina at makeuseof dot com] are most welcome!

title="Moddi Homepage" href="http://www.moddi.no/">Moddi – Away From Home

Genre: alternative, pop, rock, post rock, singer-songwriter

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=4038471688/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

From Moddi’s title="Moddie Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/floriography?sk=info">Facebook profile: “My name is Pål Moddi Knutsen, twenty-four years old as I write this. I come from an island called Senja in the far north of Norway. Whoever you are, and whatever reason you have for listening: thank you for lending me your time!”

Away From Home is a free download from title="Moddi - Away From Home" href="http://moddi.bandcamp.com/album/away-from-home-soundtrack">Bandcamp.

title="Adventure Club Records Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/adventureclubrecords">Adventure Club Records – Winter 2011

Genre: indie, pop, rock, americana, folk, sampler

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1780621791/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

Adventure Club Records is a UK label run by the bands themselves. From the album page: “Winter is looming. It’s getting cold out. So we thought we’d put together a few tracks to remind you of sunnier times. All the artists on the EP have new releases in the new year, this just is a little taste of what’s to come.”

The Winter 2011 sampler is a free download from title="Adventure Club Records - Winter 2011" href="http://adventureclubrecords.bandcamp.com/album/winter-2011-free-download">Bandcamp.

title="Zach Ellsworth Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zach-Ellsworth/129323373749203?sk=app_2405167945">Zach Ellsworth – So-Called Heroes

Genre: christian, pop, rock

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3747410599/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

Please note that while this album is streamed via Bandcamp, the free download is available through NoiseTrade, see link below.

From his title="Zach Ellsworth NoiseTrade" href="http://www.noisetrade.com/zachellsworth">NoiseTrade profile: “I often feel like there’s something missing – like there’s something or someone that can make life better or more rewarding. Like I’m one decision away from being happy or content with where I am. So, I make decisions and run hard after things that I want or need or I think need me…but I’m always left wanting more. This endless cycle is right at the heart of this record, So-Called Heroes. Please walk with me through the world that each one of us lives in and be willing to look at it through a different lens. A lens that believes there is one Hero that can save us from ourselves and put an end to our cycles of darkness, discontentment and emptiness. The beauty of the story is that it is the same for each one of us…”

So-Called Heroes is a free download from title="Zach Ellsworth - So-Called Heroes" href="http://www.noisetrade.com/zachellsworth">NoiseTrade.

title="Matt Wertz Homepage" href="http://www.mattwertz.com/wc2/">Matt Wertz – Twenty Three Places

Genre: acoustic, pop,

From his title="Matt Wertz Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/mattwertz?sk=info">Facebook profile: “I’m from Liberty, Missouri, but have called Nashville, Tennessee, home for the last seven years. (…) Early on, I was shown many graces—like a loan from my parents to pay for the first 1,000 copies of my debut record, Somedays (2001). (…) The days between then and now have been a series of “baby steps” that have somehow afforded me success as an independent artist. All these things really kicked into gear after the release of Twenty Three Places (2003), the first record I recorded with producer and friend, Ed Cash. (…) Since the start of my career, I’ve sold around 75,000 albums, played shows with Ben Folds, Jamie Cullum, and One Republic, as well as headlined sold-out clubs around the country. This was all done, mind you, as an independent artist. Over time, momentum built and more labels took notice, including Universal Republic. Finally I encountered a label that felt right, a label that could pull the trigger, a label that understood where I was coming from. And so, I signed.”

Twenty Three Places is a free download from title="Matt Wertz - Twenty Three Places" href="http://noisetrade.com/mattwertz">NoiseTrade.

title="Jon Troast HOmepage" href="http://www.jontroast.com/">Jon Troast – Jam Sampler

Genre: pop, folk, rock

From Jon’s NoiseTrade profile: “I grew up in the Midwest, and now I live in Nashville, TN. I started out playing in coffee shops, bars and churches, but I began to get opportunities I hadn’t even imagined. In June of 2007, I was a musical guest on the nationally broadcasted radio program “A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.” Before long, I was touring coast-to-coast playing my songs in hundreds of house concerts including a marathon run of 100 concerts in 100 days! I’ve been a full-time musician for over 7 years now, recording four full-length albums with producer Mitch Dane of Sputnik Sound. I’m now in the process of releasing 4 EPs with producer Andy Osenga. Always making music!”

Jam Sampler is a free download from title="Jon Troast - Jam Sampler" href="http://www.noisetrade.com/jontroastmusic">NoiseTrade..

title="Dan Oschrin Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Oschrin/165241523575258?sk=app_204974879526524">Dan Oschrin – Haunted House

Genre: indie, alternative, lo-fi, rock

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3530542708/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

Dan Oschrin is a solo artist from Kent, Washington, who is currently located in Ankara, Turkey.

Haunted House is a name your price download from title="Dan Oschrin - Haunted House" href="http://danoschrin.bandcamp.com/album/haunted-house">Bandcamp.

title="Labyrinth Ear Homepage" href="http://labyrinthear.com">Labyrinth Ear – Oak EP

Genre: electronic, pop

width="100%" height="81" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F4399946" /> width="100%" height="81" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F4399946" allowscriptaccess="always" />

From their title="Labyrinth Ear Last.fm" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Labyrinth+Ear">Last.fm page: “Labyrinth Ear are an electronic duo from New Cross in London formed in 2010. They performed their debut show at In The City in October 2010 and released their free download EP ‘Oak’ the same month.”

Oak EP is a free download from Labyrinth Ear’s title="Labyrinth Ear - Oak EP" href="http://labyrinthear.com/oak-ep/">Homepage (via MediaFire).

title="Passo Torto Homepage" href="http://passotorto.com.br">Passo Torto – selftitled

Genre: samba torto

width="100%" height="305" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F1270805" /> width="100%" height="305" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F1270805" allowscriptaccess="always" />

Translated from their title="Passo Torto Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/passotorto?sk=info">Facebook profile: “Based on Samba, the young composer Rodrigo Campos, Kiko Dinucci and Romulo Froes, each in their own way, have proposed a new direction to the music of St. Paul, influenced not only by the rhythm, but all the rich tradition of Brazilian music.”

The selftitled album Passo Torto is a free download from Passo Torto’s title="Passo Torto - selftitled" href="http://passotorto.com.br/site/">Homepage.

title="Mike Osso Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/MossoFresco">Bear Bones – Seat Save Infinity

Genre: instrumental, fusion, hip hop

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3008931757/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

Bear Bones is a music project by Mike Osso.

Seat Save Infinity is a free download from title="Bear Bones - Seat Save Infinity" href="http://mikeossomusic.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp.

title="Self Taught Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Self-Taught/12761386649?sk=info">Self Taught – Arrival

Genre: atmosphere, hip hop

style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=2543681962/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" frameborder="0" width="400" height="100">

From their Bandcamp page: “Comprised of Vintage and Cliff Herman (…) the Vancouver duo checked out in 2002 and has worked steadily for the past five years on an assortment of material with a mixture of many talented artists. Several years of experimenting with various genres resulted in the unification of various aspects of hip hop, rock, jazz, blues, punk, and electronic to create the Self Taught sound. No boundaries, limits or borders is the attitude taken into every Self Taught album. This diversity is emphasized on their latest magnum opus, Arrival. The 2007 release creates an unparalleled listening experience that continually grabs the attention of the listener. Arrival is a complete listening experience, an epic of sorts, a must have cd, not only for fans of hip hop, but for fans of music.”

Arrival is a free download from title="Self Taught - Arrival" href="http://chamberlaindrive.bandcamp.com/album/arrival">Bandcamp.

New to Sound Sunday? Past editions of Sound Sunday are available title="Past Editions of Sound Sunday" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/soundsunday/">here.

Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback or simply add your comments below.

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DAP is a consumer application that accelerates your downloads using SPEEDbit’s patented multi-channel technology. While you download, DAP ensures your computer is using maximum bandwidth by downloading from parallel mirror sites.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-28-15h14_15.jpg" alt="download videos from internet" />Streaming video websites are such a big part of our lives, it’s hard to remember a time when they didn’t exist. These websites revolutionized our computer video experience – no longer do we have to download every single video we want to watch – it’s all right there!

But the opposite is also true. Sometimes sending a link or embedding a video is not enough, and we need the actual file, or only its soundtrack. And when that happens, the default FLV file format rarely cuts it. Luckily, there are several downloaders-converters out there that make it easy as pie to download videos and convert them into almost every possible format.

Xenra

href="http://www.xenra.com">Xenra is an easy-to-use web app which both downloads and converts YouTube videos into multiple formats. You can use it to either download whole videos, or extract entire audio tracks from YouTube videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-28-12h58_49.jpg" alt="download videos from internet" width="529" height="171" border="0" />

It’s very easy to use. Simply enter a valid YouTube link in the address bar and click the big red shiny “Download Now” button. You can then choose which format you want your video or audio file to be in, choose its quality and control several other aspects of the download.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/xenra-13.jpg" alt="download free videos" width="566" height="334" border="0" />

When you’re done, click “Start Conversion”. Xenra will start by downloading the video to its servers, and then convert it into the requested format. The process is rather swift, depending of course, on the video you chose and the quality you selected.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/xenra-2.jpg" alt="download free videos" width="572" height="383" border="0" />

When it’s done, you can download the file, share it, embed it, and generally have fun with it.

ClipConverter

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-clip-convert-web-videos-clipconverter/">ClipConverter is another excellent web app which can be used with multiple streaming video websites, not just YouTube. It can even convert or extract audio from video files you already have on your computer.

To start, paste the video’s URL or upload the file you wish to convert.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/clipconverter-15.jpg" alt="download free videos" width="581" height="205" border="0" />

Now choose which format you want the downloaded file to be converted into. Here too you can download the entire video or extract only the audio. If you wish to download only part of the video, you can specify start and end times and get only that snippet of the video as the final product. When you’re done, click “Start!”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/clipconverter-2.jpg" alt="download videos" width="580" height="350" border="0" />

ClipConverter downloads and converts your video – and does so extremely quickly – and presents a download link along with a QR code, for downloading directly to your phone.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/clipconveretr-3.jpg" alt="download videos" width="438" height="343" border="0" />

To speed things up even further, try ClipConverter’s href="http://www.clipconverter.cc/addon/">browser add-ons for Firefox, Chrome and Safari, or use the handy dandy href="http://www.clipconverter.cc/addon/">bookmarklet.

ConvertVideoToAudio

href="http://www.convertvideotoaudio.com/">ConvertVideoToAudio is not as slick as the former two web apps, and not nearly as fast. What it does have going for it, are some unique file formats most other such converters don’t offer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/convert-video-to-audio.jpg" alt="download videos" width="418" height="429" border="0" />

The website itself is way too cluttered with ads, and there are no settings to choose from except format. Having said that, you may find it useful if you need to quickly download and covert an online video into one of these formats, and while you can’t control the quality, it ends up being surprisingly good.

KeepTube

href="http://keep-tube.com">KeepTube is another download and convert service which you can use in multiple ways, although only with YouTube videos. Similar to other web apps, KeepTube sports the copy & paste option, but another way is to add the word “keep” before the word “youtube” on any YouTube URL you’re currently watching.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/keeptube-2.jpg" alt="keeptube-2" width="440" height="371" border="0" />

Both the copy/paste method and the “keep” method will direct you to the KeepTube website, where you can choose your preferred quality. KeepTube can be used mainly for full video downloads (HD and HQ included), but you can also use it to convert videos into MP3s.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/keeptube-1.jpg" alt="keeptube-1" width="580" height="405" border="0" />

If this is not quick enough, you can download a href="http://keep-tube.com/greasemonkey-plugin.php">plugin for Firefox or Chrome, or use the href="http://keep-tube.com/download-youtube-videos.php">bookmarklet. Note that the web app will attempt to launch a Java applet. If this is not to your liking, you can use the non-Java version of the app.

Freemake [Windows]

If web apps are not your cup of tea, and you like the feel of a good desktop app under your feet, this is the option for you. href="http://www.freemake.com">Freemake is a fantastic video converter for Windows which we’ve href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/freemake-easy-video-converter-windows/">mentioned in the past, which now also offers Freemake’s href="http://www.freemake.com/free_video_downloader/">free video downloader.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/freemake-1.jpg" alt="freemake-1" width="577" height="198" border="0" />

This slick piece of software grabs your video links from the clipboard. Copy the video URL and simply click the “Paste URL” button. The software can be set up in advance with your favorite settings, and will start downloading and converting immediately. When it’s done, you can even play the new file directly from the app.

If you turn off the one-click download option, you can set up the quality, format and location for each file separately. The downloader can also be used to extract audio from videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/freemake-23.jpg" alt="download videos from internet" width="566" height="598" border="0" />

Note that the software requires an installation of the latest version of .NET. If you don’t have it yet, it might take a little while to download.

Conclusion

Last time I actually needed to download and convert a YouTube video from the Internet, it proved to be quite a difficult task. But downloading an converting online videos has been getting increasingly easier, and after only a year or two, the Web is teeming with quick and simple options. Now I can’t wait for it to becomes even easier.

Know of some more easy-to-use video downloaders that also convert? Know of an important option we missed? Share in the comments!

Image credit: href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/206200/206200,1239563704,10/stock-vector-two-arrow-refresh-symbol-28369810.jpg" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iOS5-300.jpg" alt="ios operating system" />Learn all about iOS 5, the latest operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. If you’ve upgraded but aren’t sure what’s new, or are considering upgrading but want to know what you’re getting into, this manual from Lachlan Roy is what you looking for: “Using iOS: Your Guide to the Latest and Greatest Mobile Operating System.”

When Apple released the iPhone back in 2007, it was different to anything else on the market. It wasn’t the first touchscreen phone, but it was the first one to be so pretty. But as gorgeous as the hardware was, that wasn’t what made the iPhone so great, or what shook the cellphone industry. It was the software which made the iPhone what it was.

Now iOS 5 has been released, providing updates, tweaks and brand new features to make the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad even better and easier to use than before. Want to know what it brings to the table? Download this manual to find out.

style="text-align: center;"> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/using-ios-your-guide-to-the-latest-and-greatest-mobile-operating-system">DOWNLOAD Using iOS: Your Guide to the Latest and Greatest Mobile Operating System

style="text-align: center;">The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the guide by:

style="text-align: center;">1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the password via email in the next couple of hours.

style="text-align: center;">OR

style="text-align: center;">2. Simply share the guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ on the download page. Quick and easy.

 

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iOS5-3page.jpg" alt="ios operating system" width="580" height="270" />

Download this free MakeUseOf guide to learn:

• What iOS 5 is, and which devices you can use it on.
• New features in iOS 5, from reminders to Twitter integration.
• Mastering the new, Android-style dashboard.
• Using the new messaging to send texts for free over WiFi, even from an iPod touch.
• Device-specific features, such as Siri.
• iCloud: what it is and what it does.

style="text-align: center;"> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/using-ios-your-guide-to-the-latest-and-greatest-mobile-operating-system">DOWNLOAD Using iOS: Your Guide to the Latest and Greatest Mobile Operating System

style="text-align: center;">The guide is free but password-protected. Gain access to the guide by:

style="text-align: center;">1- subscribing to our newsletter (you may do this on the download page itself, link above). Existing subscribers will receive the password via email in the next couple of hours.

style="text-align: center;">OR

style="text-align: center;">2. Simply share the guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ on the download page. Quick and easy.

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Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads. Comprehensive error recovery and resume capability will restart broken or interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network problems, computer shutdowns, or unexpected power outages. Simple graphic user interface makes IDM use…

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